Various Artists -- Odour of Dust & Rot (review)

Band: various artists
Album: Odour of Dust & Rot
Genre: black metal
Year: 2011
Label: Rhinocervs

This V/A compilation collects tracks from a number of West-Coast US black metal bands and presents a dark, mystifying experience.  For such a release, this is a very cohesive compilation; it almost feels as if a singular group is playing all the songs.  What's more is none of the offerings stands out as particularly lacking in quality, yet not everything seems inherently essential to this comp either.
The highlights of this hour-long behemoth are the opening and closing numbers.  "Enslave Every Star" leads us into the comp with waves of eerie dissonance, which effectively sets the tone for the subsequent tracks.  The artist is frustratingly uncredited, and it would seem they (possibly) provided a number of the comp's tracks (6 total uncredited tracks).  The closer is a slow, morose number by Absum (who also have multiple cuts on the release).  Their other two tracks are likewise doomy and sullen with a vocalist who is incomprehensible but clearly in agony.
The other artists bring forth equally depraved cuts of black metal fury.  Glossolalial's "Filth In the Light" stands out with its dissonant lead guitars, and Nihilobstat provide a slab of doomier black metal filth.  The longest track is provided by Kuxan Suum at nearly eleven minutes.  This piece, titled "Principle of Harmonic Resonance", takes the listener on a psychedelic, cosmic journey through Mayan astrology.
Overall, this comp is very well put together.  The tracks flow seamlessly, almost as if the bands were all one entity.  Give this fine compilation a listen on YouTube here.


Rating: 3.5 / 5
Top Tracks:
unknown -- Enslave Every Star
Absum -- Restless Specter
Glossolial -- Filth In the Light

Батюшка -- Литургия (review)

Band: Батюшка
Album: Литургия
Genre: black metal/Orthodox chant
Year: 2015
Label: Witching Hour Productions

The Polish black metal scene has produced yet another fantastic band.  Батюшка (Batushka - title of an Orthodox priest) put a unique spin on the genre by drawing influence from the Russian Orthodox faith.  The three members of the band are shrouded in mystery, but most people say that they are involved with other projects.
Литургия (liturgiya - liturgy) is the band's debut LP, and right off the bat I am impressed.  The album is divided into eight ектении (yektenii - litanies).  The music incorporates Orthodox liturgical chants which give the album a ritualistic feel.  The chanted vocal parts are not samples like most bands use.  The chants are composed and performed by the band; thus, a good portion of the vocal work is done in this manner.  Keeping in line with the theme of 'orthodoxy', the lead vocalist employs the traditional black metal scream.  Overall, these vocal parts are central in the context of the album.
The instrumentation, while not unique, is well composed and executed professionally.  The album is dotted with killer riffs and memorable melodies.  The drumming is predominantly blast beats, but they feel somewhat subdued by the mix (which honestly works here).  The bass has a nice tone and gets a chance to be the center of attention on "Ектения VI: Уповане."  Occasionally church bells chime in between tracks.  In fact, the album feels as if it is being performed in a Russian church.  The guitars create a cavernous atmosphere, and the chants and shrieks echo off the walls.  One can almost smell the air, thick incense.  Литургия aims at creating an atmosphere first and foremost, and it succeeds while also providing quality riffage.
The sum of these litanies is an eerie yet beautiful execution of Polish black metal.  Hopefully this is not a one-off project as I hope to hear more liturgical black metal from these mysterious, talented musicians.  You can give Батюшка a listen on YouTube here.


Rating: 4 / 5
Top Tracks:
Ектения I: Очищение
Ектения III: Премудрость
Ектения II: Благословение

Odraza -- Esperalem tkane (review)

Band: Odraza
Album: Esperalem tkane
Genre: avant-garde black metal
Year: 2014
Label: Arachnophobia Records

"Odraza" is Polish for "revulsion" or "disgust."  Hailing from Silesia, Odraza is a two-piece metal outfit whose sound is best described as urban, nihilistic black metal.  Their music reflects on such topics as depression and the abuse of alcohol.  Odraza's Esperalem tkane (meaning Woven with Esperal -- a drug used to treat alcoholism) is a bleak vision of modern urban society, rife with drugs, violence, and vanity, yet it is performed so eloquently...
The band's style is very progressive yet at times is reminiscent of old-school black metal.  The album is laced with sounds of the urban sprawl.  "Niech się dzieje" opens with the sound of a passing train shaking the walls of a building, immediately bringing to mind the image of a filthy apartment situated next to the tracks (a la The Blues Brothers).  "Esperalem tkany" features an atmospheric sample that evokes a bereft alleyway.  The urban decay is not only limited to outside sounds on this record; the instruments advance the story set in motion with the rattle of the train.  The guitars have a gloomy texture to them, and the bass grumbles in the filth of the gutter.  The vocals are a harsh roar, like that of a crowd shuffling along on the sidewalk.  During "Próg," the vocalist breaks out into a violent coughing fit, which brings to mind the repulsive filth of the album cover.
And that is exactly what the band is aiming for: filth.  Revulsion.  Odraza.  Yet the Polish duo manage to lace the putridity of their metropolitan soundscape with some beauty.  Softer passages dot "Esperalem tkany" and "Próg," and the album closer is a rather somber affair.  Regardless, Odraza is unrelenting in their vehemence.  The music is as passionate as it is experimental.
Odraza has not only put forth great effort with Esperalem tkane, but they have shown that they are a force to be reckoned with in the Polish black metal scene.  You can immerse yourself in this bleak soundscape on YouTube here.


Rating: 5 / 5
Top Tracks:
Esperalem tkany
Próg
Tam, gdzie nas spotkamy